Reinhardt family

The Reinhardt, Hawley, Hewes and Meredith families are tied together through marriage and their Quaker faith across multiple generations. The Reinhardt branch of the family became involved with the Hawley, Hewes, and Merediths with the marriage of William Dell Reinhardt and Rebecca Hawley. William Dell Reinhardt was born on July 13, 1830, the son of Isaac Reinhardt, a miller, and Lydia Ludwig Reinhardt of Marietta, Lancaster County, PA. He was one of 10 children.

William Dell Reinhardt graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School and lived in Harrisburg, PA. With financial problems always on the horizon, he travelled to Brazil, where his brother John Cooper Reinhardt worked as a doctor and botanist, and practiced medicine there. He returned to Pennsylvania in the spring of 1866 and on December 24, 1866, he married Rebecca Hawley. According to Ann P. McCormack, his medical practice was not always successful and financial security was constantly a concern.

The Hawley family’s earliest ties to this collection are Joseph Hawley (1760-1856) and his wife Rebecca Meredith Hawley (1766-1851). Their son Jesse Hawley (1806-1887) married Esther Meredith Hawley (1807-1900), the daughter of John Meredith (1776-1825) and Ann Mendenhall Meredith (1776-1871) and became the parents of Rebecca Hawley Reinhardt. Jesse and Esther Meredith Hawley ran the Pughtown School for Girls, also known as Ivy Hall, in Pughtown, PA. Rebecca taught at their school at the age of 24. Rebecca's sister Annie graduated from Hahnemann College in 1873 with a degree in medicine and established a practice in Pughtown.

William Dell and Rebecca Hawley Reinhardt had six children: David Jones Reinhardt (1867-1935), Jesse Hawley Reinhardt (1869-1938), Mary Bailey Reinhardt (1870-1962), Esther Meredith Reinhardt (1872-1950), Lydia Ludwig Reinhardt (1875(6)-1967), and Elizabeth Christina Reinhardt (1878-1969). Between 1873 and 1874, the family moved to Jefferson Furnace in Clarion County. They also lived in Marlboro and Salem, NJ where Rebecca taught at a Friends' School after the death of William on May 25, 1880.

Their eldest son, David Jones Reinhardt married Anna Margaret Hewes of Salem, New Jersey (1867-1955) on June 30, 1896. Her parents were Thomas Hewes and Elizabeth Miller. Anna Margaret Hewes attended Salem High School, followed Froebel courses, taught kindergarten and primary school, and enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania. David Jones Reinhardt graduated from Haverford College in 1889 with a Bachelor of Science degree. He read law in Wilmington under Colonel Benjamin Nields and, on June 3, 1896, was admittted to the Bar of Delaware. He served as Solicitor for Wilmington from 1901 to 1903; as Senator in the Delaware State Senate from 1913 to 1915; Attorney General of Delaware from 1917 to 1921; United States Attorney for District of Delaware from 1924 to 1927; and Resident Judge of New Castle County. In March 1933, he became Associate Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court and Lecturer on Delaware procedure at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. David Jones Reinhardt's son, David, Jr. and his grandson, Joseph, also graduated from Haverford College and were admitted to the Bar.

From the guide to the Reinhardt, Hawley and Hewes family papers, 1762-1955, (Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections)